Google is planning to launch a Gemini-based smart display to succeed its existing Nest Hub range, judging by recent comments from a key smart home executive at the company.
A week ago, Google upgraded the Google Home speaker to bring it up to speed with Gemini Live and its other generative AI tools. However, the company’s smart display line wasn’t shown the same love. Thankfully, it looks like we can add the word “yet” to that last sentence.
In an interview with The Verge, the fella with the knowledge reaffirmed the company’s commitment to smart displays and promised an announcement is forthcoming. Or, to use the director of product management for Google Home & Nest Anish Kattukaran’s own words, Google is “definitely committed to smart displays,” and will “have news to share there soon.”
He added: “[The smart display] does present itself as an incredible form factor to interact with something like Gemini for Home. If you think about the properties of a smart display — a microphone, which means audio in, a speaker, audio out. It’s got a screen, which complements a voice modality, you can interact with it and visualise information.”
The Google executive added that the cameras within smart displays will give Gemini even more leverage to perform its magic. Overall, he said it’s “almost like the ultimate form factor” for a modern AI device. Google hasn’t released a new Nest Hub since 2021, so a refresh is certainly overdue. Gemini could revolutionise the experience compared to that now ancient second generation model.
Google’s almost pre-reveal of the new smart Gemini-powered smart display might be to put people off Amazon’s latest Echo Show model, which offers the Alexa+ assistant that can recognise individual users as they enter the room and provide them with contextual information on the display.
Amazon and Google might have competition from Apple eventually too, with rumours the company is continuing work on HomePad that would essentially be an iPad attached to a HomePod speaker. Apple is also thought to be working on a model with a robot arm, but that’s likely to be much further down the line.
